Maharashtra witnesses further spike in COVID-19 cases; total tally of cases rises to 2684

As per a press release by the Maharashtra Health Department, 350 fresh novel coronavirus cases were reported in the state on Tuesday taking the overall tally of confirmed cases to 2,684. Moreover, 18 more people died owing to the novel coronavirus in the day propelling the death toll to 178. 72% of the deceased persons had diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and heart disease. 

On the whole, 259 COVID-19 patients have completely recovered. Mumbai continues to contribute a lion's share of the state's novel coronavirus cases with 1756 patients besides reporting 112 deaths. A total of 46,588 laboratory samples have been tested until now. Additionally, the Maharashtra Health Department revealed that 50 Markaz attendees in the state had contracted COVID-19. 

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Uddhav Thackeray addresses people of Maharashtra 

Addressing the people of Maharashtra earlier in the day, CM Uddhav Thackeray thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending the lockdown till May 3. He attributed the rising COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra to the high number of tests being conducted in Mumbai. The Maharashtra CM confirmed that two committees- one headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and the other consisting of experts such as Raghunath Mashelkar, Ajit Ranade had been formed to chalk out a plan to mitigate the economic crisis. Highlighting that there were no novel coronavirus cases in 10 districts of the state, he exuded confidence that the COVID-19 pandemic would be defeated. Additionally, Thackeray revealed that the state government had asked the Centre to permit trial for Plasma treatment and BCG vaccine treatment. 

Read: Bandra: Sena Blames Centre For 'migrant Workers' Gathering, Says ‘they Want To Go Home’

On this occasion, he warned against anyone exploiting the sentiments of the migrant workers. Explaining the reason behind the Bandra incident where thousands of people gathered, he noted that they were misguided that the train services would start after April 14. While maintaining that he was talking to the Centre in this regard, he appealed to the migrant labourers to avoid any kind of panic. Moreover, he assured them that both the state government and the Centre would facilitate travel to their home state after the end of the lockdown. 

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